Ultrathin metal nanowires (NWs) with diameters of less than 10 nm have attracted much interest in recent years. Large anisotropy, electrical conductivity, and chemical stability of ultrathin gold NWs (AuNWs) make them suitable candidates as linkage in nanoelectronic devices. Their narrow width cuts down on the usage of precious metal and confers high sensitivity for applications such as sensors. Other potential application areas include fully transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs).
Since TTFTs have been were first reported in 2003, they have been rapidly applied and commercialized in the electronics industry. Indium tin oxide (ITO) was found to be outstanding in both electrical conductivity and optical transparency, thereby rendering it suitable for use in TTFTs. Demand of these transistors has increased exponentially as they could be embedded in various devices such as displays, touch screens and photovoltaics. However, due to the scarcity and surging price of indium, there is a need for comparable substitutes for ITO.
In addition, research on nanotechnology in recent years has made assembly and array of material on nanometer scale possible. Some carbon based nanostructures, such as graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes, may be aligned and used as transparent electrodes with good conductivity. Networks of silver nanowires have also shown promising capability in the construction of optoelectronic devices. However, preparation of the above-mentioned materials involves methods such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sputtering and spin coating. Disadvantages of these techniques include high expense, high energy consumption, low yield, fragile towards external environment, and limitation of the coating surfaces.
In view of the above, there remains a need for an improved method for forming nanowires which addresses at least one or more of the above-mentioned problems.